Landcrafters Florida: Learning Center

What is Naturalizing Your Commercial Landscape?

Written by Kaylie Gibbons | Feb 20, 2024 4:52:35 PM

What is Naturalizing Your Commercial Landscape?

One-size-fits-all landscaping does not work for commercial properties. Each property has unique attributes, and every business has a particular personality that it wants to communicate through its landscaping.

Sometimes, a clean, obviously designed landscape is exactly what a commercial property needs. Other times, a more natural, organic appearance is more fitting.

For those who desire the latter, naturalization may just be for you!

What is Naturalization?

Imagine you’re taking a leisurely drive through the countryside. The windows are down, and you’re enjoying the wind as it breezes through your hair. The landscape is vibrant, and the smell of fresh flowers tickles your nose.

Nice, right?

Now, take a moment to visual those flowers that are tantalizing your senses. Are they laid out in perfectly straight rows and organized by color and type? Of course not!

Instead, they grow almost haphazardly, popping up in random bunches and speckling the landscape with beauty. In other words, it’s natural!

When it comes to your commercial property, you can’t sit back and let your landscape grow however it sees fit—you’d end up with knee-high grass, weeds everywhere, and an all-around disaster of a property. What you can do, however, is create the illusion of natural growth.

Naturalization involves planting flowering bulbs in a controlled yet informal manner. By doing so, you populate your landscape with flowers that appear to have grown naturally. It’s essentially a way to create a welcoming environment that does not feel sterile or overly manicured.

It’s appealing to visitors, attracts the eye, and breaks the mold of traditional commercial landscaping, helping differentiate your property from others!

The Naturalization Advantage

Naturalizing your commercial landscape has many benefits that can be tailored to fit your particular property.

Large properties, for example, can utilize naturalization to break up the monotony of large expanses of uninterrupted turf. By adding a natural spark of blooming flowers to the mix, you can create visual and textural interest. Additionally, bulbs self-propagate, meaning that they will come back in even greater numbers every year.

You can up the ante by using multiple types of flowers to further the variety and make the landscape look even more natural. Using different types of flowers can also increase the duration of bloom, helping your natural floral landscape last several months.

How to Naturalize

Because bulbs are inexpensive, you can go all out when you choose to naturalize your commercial property. For example, daffodil bulbs range from only $1 to $1.50. At that price, you can dedicate a sliver of your commercial landscape budget to naturalization and still see fantastic results.

We recommend investing in several hundred bulbs. Yes, you read that right!

To truly make the impact you desire, you’ll need a large display of naturalized bulbs. Keep in mind, too, that the bulbs will multiply over the years. Those few hundred bulbs will soon be in the thousands!

Caring for Naturalized Bulbs

Just like nature cares for itself, your naturalized bulbs are easy to maintain. They prepare themselves for the next cycle of flowers by using their foliage. As such, it’s important to avoid mowing until all of the leaves have died and departed. Following this simple rule will ensure a wonderful bloom the following year!

 

Naturalizing your commercial property can set you apart from other commercial landscapes in the area. Because they’re inexpensive and easy to maintain, there’s very little risk in taking this route with your landscape should you find it appealing and fitting.

Working with an experienced commercial landscape manager will help ensure that your naturalization process goes smoothly and creates the environment you’re dreaming of. Landcrafters has been creating beautiful Florida landscapes that break the mold for over 20 years and would be happy to help your commercial property reach the vision you have for it.

Call us today at 727-201-3947 or contact us via our website to discuss your commercial landscape needs with an experienced professional. You can also browse our blog for free, regularly updated landscape tips and tricks!